Bike build or off-the-shelf?
Bike build or off-the-shelf?
Winter is the perfect time to embark on a bike build.
The intricate qualities of a winter bike mean there is more to consider when selecting components – frame material and mudguard choice to name two factors unlikely to figure in most summer bike builds – and the fun in a personal build is in carefully selecting each component, weighing up the pros and cons of each, and piecing together a machine which is truly yours.
This, however, is a process which takes time (you may not want to wait for each component to be individually delivered before setting about the build itself) and skill (though most local bike shop workshops will offer a bike build service).
The off-the-shelf winter bike is growing in popularity. Many manufacturers of frames suitable for winter riding will sell it both as a frameset only and as the basis of a complete bike.
The Kinesis 4S (formerly known as the TK3), for example, is available as a frameset for £549.99 or in a Shimano Tiagra build for £1,169.99, or the upscale De Rosa Milanino Training, which has recently arrived for review at RCUK, is offered as a frameset for £799.99 or in a Campagnolo Veloce build for £1,699.99. Both have the potential to be more than a heavy duty winter bike, which goes some way to justifying the expense.
Other well-respected manufacturers of frames designed for UK winter conditions include Condor, Dolan, Forme, Ribble, Genesis and Enigma.
To throw in a curve ball, the market for do-it-all cyclo-cross bikes is fast-growing and such frames (built to withstand the demands of ‘cross) can also double-up for winter use, though they’re unlikely to offer the specific advantages of a dedicated winter frame.
Many ‘cross frames, like the Cannondale CAADX Disc, have mudguard eyelets and can accommodate disc brakes, and a change of wheels (in this case they will need to be disc-specific road wheels) will convert it from a ‘cross bike to a road machine. Such a build last year took place on the RCUK forum.